Blatter worried about World Cup in Brazil

GOING, Austria – Fifa president Sepp Blatter, , said Brazil “might” have been the wrong choice as host of the 2014 World Cup if the tournament is affected by social protests like those at the Confederations Cup last month.

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets during the warm-up tournament in June, demanding better public services and expressing their anger over the cost to stage the World Cup.

“If this happens again we have to question whether we made the wrong decision awarding the hosting rights,” Blatter said this week.

Fifa spoke with the Brazilian government after the Confederations Cup, and Blatter said he’ll discuss the issue again with Brazil President Dilma Rousseff in September.

“We didn’t do a political debriefing, but we did emphasise the fact of this social unrest being there for the duration of the Confederations Cup,” he said. “The government is now aware that next year the World Cup shouldn’t be disturbed.

“To me, these protests were like alarm bells for the government, the senate, the parliament. They should work on it so that this is not going to happen again. Though protests, if peaceful, are part of democracy and therefore have to be accepted ... we are convinced the govern- ment ... will find the words and the actions to prevent a repeat. They have a year to do so.”

Blatter was speaking at the start of a two-day conference on sport, media and economy set up by German great Franz Beckenbauer in Austria. Fifa later verified the comments were accurate. The Confederations Cup, won by Brazil, angered citizens who are upset with the amount spent on the tournaments while they endure underfunded schools and hospitals. Protesters aired a wide spectrum of grievances, including the high cost of hosting

the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The protests were originally organised by university students before spreading across the country, including to tournament host cities Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte.

“It’s not we who have to learn lessons from the protests in Brazil – politics [politicians] in Brazil have to do that,” said Blatter, adding that “Fifa cannot be held responsible” for social discrepancy in the country.

Without Fifa’s executive committee having to vote, Brazil won the right to host the tournament in October 2007. That was six months after the only other candidate, Colombia, withdrew its bid.

“The decision for Brazil ... was the correct decision, we stick to this decision,” Blatter said. –